Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrett Groesbeck.
Hi Garrett, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands. As a young child, I loved playing with Lincoln Logs and other building toy sets. My brother and I also enjoyed building forts in the fields surrounding our home. In high school, I got a job as a laborer in a cabinet shop. My job duties included a LOT of sanding (The worst!), cleaning the shop, and occasionally going to help with installs.
It was here that I really started to feel the satisfaction of building something and seeing the joy and happiness it brought to others. Over the next few years, I continued to work at different cabinet shops but also learned other trades that have helped build skills that I still use today. Most mentionable are home painting, metalwork, and fine carpentry.
In 2010, I got a job to help build a home for the parade of homes. Everything in that home was completely custom and made by hand–and I mean everything. Light fixtures, windows, cabinets, furniture (including upholstery), doors, etc. ALL handmade from raw materials. I learned that I loved doing custom work and the creative process of it all. This is when I decided to start building items to sell as a side hustle.
I have a small garage at my home that I turned into a woodshop to make and sell furniture items. I would sell items on KSL and Etsy. I continued to do that for about 6 years. Keep in mind I still had a full-time job. Anything that I was making and selling I had to do in the evenings or on the weekends. I kept getting more and more work and eventually decided to move the shop from my garage to an actual shop that was for rent. Here I got a big job making all of the furniture pieces for an office.
This included 13 custom-made desks and a giant conference table. I realized that this could be a full-time gig and started taking steps to try and make that happen. Unfortunately, the timing was just not right then. Due to circumstances out of my control, I lost the shop and the business entered a down period. Even though this period of time, that dream was alive in me. I knew I still wanted to make it work somehow.
In 2019, I made some connections with people and I knew there could possibly be a lot of work coming my way. I knew that it was time to start looking for another shop again. I also was envisioning where I wanted my business to go. I knew I wanted to be the guy who made top-quality pieces of furniture. I went from wanting to make a lot of items for cheaper (in the early days) to only using the best materials and building methods. Do you want top-quality? I got you.
Fast forward a few months, I found a shop to rent! From 2019 to 2020, I would work full-time during the day and then would head to the shop after work to put in late hours building furniture. Often I wouldn’t get home until one or two in the morning–just to wake up the next morning and do it all over again. It was spring of 2020 when I really started to get enough work that it was challenging to keep up with as a side job.
This eventually led to me quitting my full-time job in September 2020 to branch out on my own. It was a scary decision, but ultimately I knew it was the right one. Thankfully, ever since I quit I’ve continued to get work. It’s taken a lot of time and effort, but I’m so grateful to be where I am today. I have been able to build some amazing pieces for some great people, and I’ve also have had the chance to build a few custom pieces for houses in the Utah Parade of Homes. I’m excited to continue to grow the business to what I envision it could be.
I can’t share my story without mentioning my brother Bryan. Together we had the vision of what the Stockyard Collection could be. For years, we would daydream and have long conversations about building our own business. He helped created the dream and lead me to where I am now. It is still wild to think I am a full-time custom furniture maker.
I am grateful for all the others that have been huge supporters over the last few years. You know who you are! Hard work pays off!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think that any big goal worth reaching is ever a smooth road. There have been plenty of struggles and roadblocks along the way. I’d have to say that my biggest struggle is also my greatest strength: Patience. I am a patient man, but I am so passionate about what I want to do, and sometimes it’s hard to play the waiting game and let the business grow organically.
I’m not going to lie, sometimes I wish it would grow faster! That’s where my patience gets tested. I do believe in timing though, and I know that all of the jobs that I’ve had during my adult life have led me to be ready for this next chapter. I am currently just enjoying being in the “thick of it”. I have clients and work, but I’m making sure that I continually push forward and I’m ready to work harder than I ever have before. That’s how I plan to push through the struggles–hard work! I just need more time in the day! Haha.
Another struggle that I deal with as a furniture maker is a never-ending battle that clients have between buying cheap online furniture or paying for a handmade custom piece. We live in a world where a lot of people want things cheap and delivered quickly. Unfortunately, when you are buying cheap furniture it’s not made to last. I know we are all in different stages of life and not everyone can afford to buy a custom furniture piece, but I wish more people could see the value of investing in handmade custom pieces.
There would be a lot more satisfied people out there enjoying pieces that are built to last!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a furniture maker who specializes in high-quality custom pieces of furniture. Stockyard Collection is a true custom shop. I don’t only work with wood but also build with metal and use epoxy to create 100% custom pieces for my clients. All of the woodworking and metalworking is done in my shop by me.
It is all done by hand to make sure the quality standard is met. I pride myself in using local or American supplies (as much as I can get my hands on) to make sure I get the highest quality materials and best-finished product possible. I don’t only make tables and benches but have made unique pieces for different shops, storefronts, businesses, offices, custom homes, and more.
I am most proud when I receive new clients that were referred to me from past clients. I feel that is one of the best ways for me to know that what I am doing is working. When someone comes to me saying I was recommended to them by a previous client, it makes me feel really good.
Here is the thing, there are a lot of woodworkers and furniture makers out there. I truly feel that what sets Stockyard Collection apart from the rest is making sure every client feels like they are a part of their build. They also know that I am personally making it with my own two hands and that I am passionate about the work and quality.
I want people to have a piece of furniture they are proud of and that they can have in their life and their families’ lives for a very long time.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk-taking is something I see as necessary when pursuing a personal goal or passion. On the journey to where I am now, I have had to take risks and it hasn’t always been an easy decision.
The biggest risk for me up to this point was the day I decided to leave my great full-time job. I was making good money at that point and it was a huge risk to quit to pursue my dream–knowing that I’d be making a lot less for a while. The risk wouldn’t just affect me but also my wife and two kids. I knew we would have to make some adjustments and I would still have to provide for the family while building this company.
Though it has definitely had its up and downs, so far it has been a risk worth taking. Aside from that big initial risk, I have to make small risks almost weekly. That is a part of owning a small business that has big goals. As long as the risks continue to work to help move things forward, I will continue to take them.
Contact Info:
- Email: thestockyardcollection@gmail.com
- Instagram: @stockyardcollection
- Youtube: Stockyard Collection
Image Credits
Stockyard Collection and Allison Campbell Designs
